Looking for a Vacation Rental Property on OBX

Yesterday, Eddie from Sun Realty came over and talked to us about buying a vacation property here on the Outer Banks. He wanted to find out what our goals were... huh, hadn't thought about that yet. We told him, we were thinking that we'd like to move here permanently in about 10 years and from now till then - we'd like to rent out the place. Out of the six kids between us - the youngest should be through high school in 10 years.

I know it's been my dream to move to the Outer Banks when the kids are through school. But, I think I need to talk to Adam about what his dreams are instead of dragging him along for mine.

Anyway, Eddie seemed to be encouraging us to buy a lot and build a house. He says that a rental property doesn't ever pay for itself 100% - but that we may only need to pay about $500 per month for a 400K house. He recommended looking in Waves, Salvo and Avon - which are all towns that I really like. He left us with a lot of literature and things to think about.

OBX to Convalesce

Lizzie is making arrangements to Convalesce in the Outer Banks (OBX) for the next week. Not so much for her, but she feels it would be good for her two youngest children to get away for the next week due to the passing of their father. Read this Fatladysingz post for more details.

Now would seem to be a good time to go to OBX, not only to convalesce, but the rental rates are low and the crowds are minimal.

We will have to get some advice from Paula the Surf Mom, about things to do with kids while we are in OBX. According to Paula's surf report, the water maybe a little chili. Good thing the place Lizzie just rented not only has Wifi, but also has a pool and hot tub. The pic seen above is of our place from last summer in Avalon**, and not our future rental.

More details of the trip will follow.

**oops thats Avon...Avalon is in NJ, and sure would not want to go to NJ to convalesce.

Puerto Rico...

I just have to post another picture of the Hotel. Here is the room where we will be staying in Puerto Rico:

Update:Except for the white canopy, that is almost exactly what our luxurious Gran Melia room looked like. Just behind the wardrobe would be a flat screen LG tv.
One note of caution, if you stay at Gran Melia, be careful what you send to the laundry. We were left with quite a hefty bill because Lizzie let me fill out the laundry form.

Puerto Rico Honeymoon!

We really thought that Hawaii would be a great place to Honeymoon - but, after talking to many people about this... the general consensus was that - more time would be necessary for Hawaii! We only have one week and travel to and from Hawaii would take up two of the seven days. So, if we weren't going to Hawaii - then where would we go?

There were several issues that would help in this decision. First, since we had to make this happen fairly quickly - the location couldn't require a passport. I have to get mine renewed and he doesn't have one. We wanted a beach, warm weather and the east coast was out. I've spent my entire life up and down the east coast beaches - which I love, but I was ready for something a little different. Second, we didn't want to spend to much time getting to and from the location. Last - we didn't want to spend a fortune. With this in mind - we talked to a lot of friends and the consensus was Puerto Rico.

I got online, did my due diligence and found the best deal at hotels.com. We found non-stop flights each way - and only 3 and a half hours to Puerto Rico! We found a great looking 4 and a half star resort - Gran Melia Puerto Rico. All guestrooms at Gran Meliá Puerto Rico are luxurious suites offering separate seating areas, terraces or balconies and bathrooms with full-sized marble baths. This is a description of the room/service:

Garden View Royal Service Junior Suite features include:

• Direct line telephone with Voicemail
• Free high-speed Internet access
• Cable TV with Pay-Per-View and video games
• Butler services
• In-room minibar
• Pillow menu
• Individual air conditioning and ceiling fan
• Full bathroom with vanity mirror and bath amenities
• In-room safe deposit box
• Daily newspaper delivery upon request
• Coffeemaker and fresh morning coffee delivery service
• Outdoor shower
• Plunge pool

It sounds good to me!
June 18th, 2007 - we're going to Puerto Rico for the honeymoon!

Wedding and Trip Plans

The week has flown by in a blink of an eye. Since becoming engaged we have gotten the marriage certificate. Well we really have not gotten it, we applied for it yesterday, but in PA, there is a 3 day waiting period, so we will be able to pick it up on Monday. The Marriage certificate is good for 60 days, so we have a little time to plan the wedding.

Just in time for honeymoon planning, Lizzie got a phone call from Hilton Hotels and they wanted to offer us a sweet package that we might have to take them up on. The salesperson said the offer was good in NY, Florida, and Las Vegas. Lizzie did not ask about Hawaiian Accommodations, so she will have to inquire further.

We might be taking them up on the offer, but for the NY location, because my brother just sent me an email to see if we wanted to go to to the Big Apple BQ this coming summer. I briefly thought about seeing how I could be a vendor for Earthinhand selling Corn Grills at such an event, but that might be a bit too big of an event for Earthinhand. I am pretty sure this will not count as the honeymoon trip though. As Lizzie has been planning or thinking of a remote location for the honeymoon, and NY is anything but remote.

A wonderful site BackTrip Travel Directory has lots of travel resources. Big Island Super Guide - It's more like entertainment! Island Source Free Online Hawaii Travel Brochures